Dreaming Up Reality
by bakedgewds
Summary: What happens when reality is replaced by dreams of your perfect world?
1. Dreaming Up Reality

Dreaming Up Reality

Ch. 1.

**"Aleice, have you been able to find a job yet?" **The girl sitting behind the open book closed it to look at her mother. **"Nah.. I sent in my application to Easton yesterday though, hope they call back." **She pulled the book back up to her face and began reading again, only to be interrupted as her mother started shouting. **"You know, I've had a lot of patience with you ever since you graduated. I let you move in with me, I don't expect you to pay rent, I let you sleep on my couch.. the least you could do is try harder at getting out. To be honest, I think it's time I gave you an ultimatum. Either you get a job before the end of the month, or you get out. Simple as that." **With those words her mother stood and left the room. Aleice remained on the couch staring at the words on the page blankly. She had heard this speech a million times.. At first it really worried her. Now it was just words her mother used in an attempt to get her motivated. But nothing motivated her these days.

None the less, she did want to leave that place. Those tan walls day in and day out.. The way her brother and sisters treated her. The way her mother treated her.. It really was Hells neighbor. But there was nowhere else for her to go. All of her friends had been left behind after the move out of her fathers house, and she was DEFINITELY not going back there. Not with the wicked witch of the west living there. She had no one. Plus, making friends in a new home isn't easy without school, and being an 18 year old graduate with no job just made it harder.

A tear rolling down and plopping onto the page brought her out of her daze of self pity. She was crying, again._ 'Why am I always feeling sorry for myself? Why can't I just do things right for once..' _She wiped her face dry and put the book down, pulling her laptop onto her lap and bringing up Google. She carefully typed in [places for hire in Sandusky, Ohio] and hit enter. Tons of job listing sites appeared. She clicked on the first one, and nada. The second one brought up the same results. No one was hiring. Even if she did feel inspired to try, it would be futile effort. She was just the stain on the carpet nobody wanted. She was useless..

Laying down she rested her head against the arm of the couch, her darkred hair fell over the side. She put the hood of her navy blue hoodie over her head and pulled the strings so that it closed over her face enough to hide her eyes. Letting herself get lost in thought, she didn't realize her eyes were becoming heavy, and before she knew it.. she was asleep.

**"Hello..?" "Helllooooo.." "Maybe she's dead." "No, I can see her breathing." "Well maybe she's in a coma?" "May- Oh wait.. she's coming to." **Aleice's eyes began to slowly flutter open. She was expecting the dim living room lamp she always woke up to, but instead she was blinded by something much more intense. Sitting up and squinting, she brought her arm up to block out whatever it was. After letting her eyes adjust for a moment, she realized she wasn't in her living room. **"Uhhh.." **What. The. Hell. She began to look around, expecting her brother to pop out and all of this to be a joke. But.. she didn't see her home anywhere. All there was were grassy feilds and blue skies. Where was she? She stood up and brushed herself off, stretching and yawning.

**"Oh, hello." **Aleice squeeled and fell back to the ground, not expecting what she had just heard.

**"Oh I'm sorry.. here.." **All of the sudden there was an arm reaching out to her from thin air. Just an arm.. no body. Her eyes grew wide and she crawled away from it quickly. **"What is this? Who are you?" **Her heart was pumping just about as fast as it could go when the arm reach up to pull back a hood. Brunette tufts fell to his ears and over his pale face. He was smiling with the most perfect smile, except he had abnormaly large canines. His eyes were a pleasant, summery green, and he had lots of freckles. She relaxed instantly just staring at the boy. **"Again,.. I'm sorry. Have you never seen a cloak like this before?" **He reached his arm out again to help her up, this time she took hold and was lifted to her feet. **"Cloak? Like, a cape?" "I suppose you could put it that way.. See?" **He shed the cloak and suddenly all of him was revealed. And when I say all, I mean all. She blushed hard and looked away, giggling.** "Uhm.. you're naked." **He looked down and then back at her, shrugging. **"Is that a problem?" **She was shocked. And then it hit her. This was a dream!

Why hadn't she already realized it? Why on earth would she be in a feild with a strange naked boy wearing a cloak that turned him invisable? Realizing that she looked back, this time with a more confident look on her face. **"Nope. No problem at all." **She still couldn't help but giggle though. He smiled back and reached out his hand.** "I'm Lex." **She took it and shook it gently. **"I'm Aleice. And this is a dream." **He brought his hand back, folding his cloak and tossing it over his shoulder. **"Dream?" **She turned and began walking, taking another look around. **"Yea, you know.. not real." **He began to follow her, a puzzled look on his face. **"But.. I'm real..? How did you even get here? I just found you laying there as I was out looking for Kain." **She stopped and remembered the voices from earlier. There HAD been two voices.. **"Oh yea.. I think I heard you two talking. Who's Kain?" **She asked, keeping her eyes on his face. It wasn't so often she was in the presence of a naked man and had to pretend it was normal. **"Uhh.. Kain is.. well, he's my brother. He has a temper though and when he gets mad he likes to run off. He had been missing for 3 days until I finally found him. To be honest.. He was just about to eat you."**

Her eyes grew wide and she froze. **"... Eat me?" "Yea. I convinced him you weren't dead and that you didn't look like you were from around here. Then I convinced him to go back home. He's probably on his way back now if you want to meet him." **She was still shocked about his previous statement. **"Wait.. Your brother was going to 'eat' me..? That's not weird to you?" **He laughed. **"Nah, not really. Kain loves fresh meat. C'mon, I'll take you to my home. We'll figure out what you're doing here." **Without giving her time to speak he pulled her onto his back and wrapped her legs around his waist, tossing the cloak over both of them before taking off. She kept her grip around his shoulders tight, scared at first. But he had failed to mention his home was so far away. Two hours into the ride and her eyes were getting heavy again. She began to drift away, the sounds of his running slowly dissapearing and being replaced by the sounds of a very loud television playing the usual nonsense.

Just like that, she was back. She opened her eyes to the same living room lamp as she had thousands of times before. A slight feeling of dissapointment rushed over her. That dream was kind of getting good.. the fact that it was a dream and not reality bummed her out. Maybe if she could just fall back asleep she could pick up where she left off.

**"Aleice! Get off your ass and come clean the kitchen!" **Sigh. That wasn't going to happen.


	2. DUP  Ch 2

Dreaming Up Reality

Ch. 2.

_'CLASSSSH!' _The plate fell to the ground, shattering into just about a million tiny peices. As soon as it happened Aleice looked to the ceiling, closed her eyes, and sighed knowing what was coming next. **"What the hell was that?" **Her mothers loud booming voice echoed in from the living room. **"Sorry mom.. It slipped. We have tons of plates though,.."** She was trying to sound apologetic, but really she couldn't care less. She had dropped the plate trying to remember what she had dreamed about earlier. She knew it had been a good one but couldn't quite recall the events. Ah well.

Finishing up the dishes took another hour. And then dinner was afterwards. She never ate dinner with the rest of them. Not only becuase one of the dining table chairs was broke, but it was just awkward. She knew exactly how her family felt about her, and knowing you're not welcome is never a good feeling. Taking her late she began to walk back to the living room, catching glimpses of everyone having a nice little conversation around the table. There was her mother, Kristie; the homecomming queen of her time, the one all the guys went for, the cheerleader, and the cheater. There was her boyfriend of five years and the guy she cheated on her father with, Christopher; the hunter, the redneck, the dumbass, the lazy one for which she had no idea why her mother picked. Then there was the fourteen year old brother, Trevor; one of the most foul little boys you could ever meet, the disgusting, the ill-tempered, the one she wished didn't exist. Finally, there were the two little sisters, Harlie and Miranda; the most annoying little sisters anyone could ever have, even if they were the lesser of evils in that house.

That was the family, if that's what you could call it. All they considered her was a waste of space. It's hard to disguise that feeling. Was it too much to ask to just feel wanted? Just a little? Aleice sighed and looked down, taking a seat on the couch and starting to eat.

After dinner was the same routine: do the dishes, take a shower, don't speak a word until everyone went to bed, leaving her alone in the living room to rot. At least, that's how she felt. Or maybe it was this damn headache? Ugh. She needed some fresh air. Silently slipping into her favorite Ohio State hoodie, she grabbed a flashlight and her cell phone and stepped out onto the porch. It was a cool night tonight, nothing but cornfields and the sounds of the wind blowing around her tonight. The moon was a nice little crescent shape, but it was enough to light her path as she began to walk out of the yard and onto the small highway beside her house. Nightly walks were peaceful to her, it gave her time to think and be alone. It also gave her time to call her aunt, Tammy. Her aunt was really the only one in her life who didn't think she was a waste. Tammy was the one there for her as a kid when her parents fought or were a long ways from home. She was a saint. But her days were numbered, for she had heart disease and wasn't doing very well.

Carefully dialing her aunts numbers, the phone rang.

**"Heeyyy kiddo!" "Hey Tammy" "What's up babe? Why are you calling so late? Lucky I was still up haha." "I know.. I'm sorry.. I just haven't heard your voice for a while. And I need to talk to someone.." **There was a silence. **"Aleice.. you know I'm always here for you."** Aleice smiled and felt a tear roll down her cheek. Her aunt wouldn't always be there.. every moment away from her was a moment lost. **"I know.. I love you." "I love you too kiddo. Now what's up?"** Aleice went on to tell her what was happening, how she hadn't been able to find work yet, how she hated living in the Hell hole she did now, how she felt lost and would give anything to be a kid again. Her aunt had little to say, even she knew there was nothing more she could do but comfort her.

After another few minutes they said their goodbyes and Aleice was alone again, nothing but the cool air and a throbbing headache to keep her company. Her headache had gotten worse, now her nose was congested and her head was full of pressure. It was getting bad actually. She decided it'd be best to turn back, but her house was a good two miles away.

Slowly, her vision began to fade. The wind was no longer audible.. only the thumping of her brain against the sides of her skull. Oh how painful it was.. She needed to get home and take some medicine, but no matter how much she walked it just seemed to get further away. She knew she couldn't go on, she needed to call for help. Shaky and out of energy, she slowly pulled her phone out of her pocket and tried dialing in her home number. Just as she was about to hit call her vision gave out, along with her legs. All in one motion she blacked out, dropping her phone and rolling into the ditch on the side of the road.


	3. DUP Ch 3

Dreaming Up Reality

Ch. 3.

_'Ugh.. wh..what happened? Why is it so bright..?' _ She could feel something soft under her legs and finger, as well as her head. Was that the suns warm rays beating down on her face? She slowly began to squint open her eyes, letting herself adjust to the bright new world. Sitting up she could now see she was on a bed. It just wasn't _her_ bed, or couch, rather. It was nice to wake up on a bed though, she couldn't remember the last time it had happened.

Slowly she lifted her hands in the air to let out a loooong, well deserved stretch. That's when the bright yellow sheets slipped off her chest and she felt a cool draft. Looking down she gasped and grabbed the blankets to cover herself. **"WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES!" **Why was she naked? Where was she even? WHAT was going on! In a hurry she grabbed the blanket and stood, wrapping it around herself and before starting to scan for her clothes. As she turned around her eyes suddenly locked onto something black and furry staring straight at her. It was possibly the biggest dog she had ever seen in her life, just staring at her. Her body was frozen, just standing there with the blanket glued to her body.

**"Uhh.. ni.. nice doggy.." **She gulped hard, unsure of what was happening. The last thing she could remember was the headsplitting headache and then.. nothing. She was just about to ease up a little when the dog began to come closer, his beady crimson eyes locked onto hers. Oh god. She began to panic, every possible bad thing that could happen flying through her mind as he inched closer. Finally she decided just to close her eyes and hope for the best.

She stood there waiting for something to happen, anything.. but after a minute of feeling or hearing nothing she was confused. Slowly she pryed open her sky blue eyes and almost fell back screaming when she came face to face with a raven haired boy.** "WHO ARE YOU? Where's the dog! Whaaat the helllll!" **He got her by the hand before she could back up any further and pulled her blanketed body against his, his face just infront of hers with those deep crimson eyes and a sly smirk. Her cheeks turned a bright rosy colour and she swallowed hard, unsure whether to be afraid or infactuated. He smiled fully, revealing sharp canines. **"You sure do sleep alot." **His voice was like silk. She had to snap herself out of her awe for him just to focus on his statement. As she was doing so she realized she was still holding the blanket over her naked body, and that HE WAS NAKED TO. Blushing even harder now, she tried to pry her wrist out of his hold with little success. **"Wh..Who are you.. and why are we.. naked.."** She looked away biting her lip. He chuckled and pulled her even closer, nowhere for her face to go but directly infront of his. She stared into his eyes just wondering what his plan was. She could feel his hot breath on her jaw as he gave it a tiny little kiss. Her heart was beating faster and harder with every second. Her body was completely unmoved, and strangely she didn't want him to stop.

Suddenly she could hear growling. Both of them stopped to look back at the source. It was a tan version of the dog she had seen earlier, and it was mad. Out of nowhere the dog leapt into the air and knocked the raven haired boy away from her and onto the ground. He was barking and growling, snapping his jaws at the boy in a rage she had never seen before. To her surprise the boy didn't seem scared though. He simply dodged the lunges and would laugh at every miss. Again she asked herself, what the heck was going on. Backing into the corner she could feel her heart pounding and her fear coming back. She clutched the blanket closer to her chest and began to search for an exit. There! There on the other side of the room behind the two raging beings was an open door.

Without thinking her legs began to move. She ran as fast as she could trying to escape this crazy place. She was halfway there when her foot caught the blanket and she fell on her face with a loud thump. After that everything grew silent. The fighting stopped and she could only imagine they were staring at her now. She didn't want to get up, so she didn't. She just laid there with her eyes closed and a swelling bump on her head.

**"Aleice!" **A familiar voice called out her name. She lifted her to see who it was, to her surprise it was naked man! Ohh.. what was his name.. Lee.. Lex..? Lex! He held out his hand to her just as he did in the field before. She was releived to see a familiar face and took hold to be lifted to her feet. **"Are you okay? I'm sorry I left you alone with him.. I should have known better."** Now she was really confused.** "What's going on? Where am I?" **He gave her a puzzled look and lead her back to the bed where they both took a seat. **"You hit your head hard, huh? Remember.. I found you in Luxberrys meadow and brought you back here to meet Kain. On your way back you dozed off and I didn't want to disturb you. Sooo.. I let you sleep. But as you slept I went out to find something to eat. It was a mistake though.."** He sighed and stared down the raven haired boy who had just been casually leaning against the wall watching the two of them. **"Did he hurt you? I mean.. he didn't do anything to make you uncomfortable did he?" **She shook her head. **"No.. I'm fine.. I mean, I'm naked and don't know why.. but I feel fine I guess." **He laughed and pointed to her clothes which were neatly folded ontop of a huge wooden table in the middle of the room. **"I took them off for you. Figured you were dying to get out of them anyways." **Again, she was confused. **"Why would I be? Why do you guys insist on not wearing clothes? Are you a couple of them nudist people or something?"** He gave her a puzzled look. **"No..? We just don't see the point in wearing anything that could be torn to shreds when we shift?" **She was silent and sat there staring blankly at him. Shift? What did that mean..

Finally the raven haired boy sighed and crossed his arms. **"Lex, she's obviously not from around here. We would have recognized her scent if she lived anywhere near Luxion. Maybe where she's from they decide to waste their time and effort on clothes instead of being smart." "Just shut up Kain. You have no right to criticize people.. you do tons of things people don't like." **Kain? Also a familiar name.. She paused to think for a moment and put all the peices together. There was a field, naked man,.. being.. eaten? By his brother.. his brother Kain.. Suddenly her eyes grew wide and she stared up at the boy across the room. **"You were going to eat me!" **He laughed and smirked again. **"Sweetie, you may look apetizing, but I wouldn't eat a potential plaything."** She blushed but could still feel the spite rising in her. That's when it hit her again. This was a dream.. duh. Why hadn't she realized it sooner? It took her longer this time than it had before. Instead of announcing the obvious, she decided to just go with it this time. Better than waking up and having to deal with reality.** "Plaything? Yea right. I may look sweet but this kitty bites." **She smirked right back at him before Lex burst out with excitement. **"Oh so you're a feline! That's why you wear clothes right? Felines are always so uptight and prissy, no offense." "Uhh.. what?" **The animal talk had reminded her of the two dogs from earlier. **"By the way, where did those dogs run off to? Are they yours?" **The two boys stared at her with questionable faces.** "Dogs? There weren't any dogs here. It was just us three." **Lex stated, staring her down as if she were crazy. **"No, there was a black dog with red eyes, and a brownish dog with... green... eyes.." **As she was describing the animals she began to put the peices together in her head. Looking into Lex's eyes was all it took. His _green _eyes. Dogs. Feline. Naked. Shift. Could it possibly be? **"Wait.. wait wait wait..." **She stood up and began to back away. Lex stood up and halfway reached out to her unsure of what to do or what she was scared of. Kain just stood where he was and watched. **"You mean.. you're the dogs from earlier..?" "We're not dogs. We're wolves. Get it right." **Kain sneered, and then in one swift moment his flesh seemed to peel off his body, being replaced with sleek black fur. She had never felt her eyes so wide in her life. The boy had just turned into a wolf right infront of her. She smiled a crazy smile and raised an arm to point at the wolf in Kains spot as she stared over at Lex, giggling like a mad woman. To her utter surprise, he too had shifted.

With that, she fainted. As she drifted out of conciousness, all she could hear was Kain's voice... **"She's asleep again."**


	4. DUP Ch 4

Dreaming up Reality

Ch. 4.

_**'Splashhhh' **_Aleice jumped and quickly sat up on her elbows gasping. Water dripped down from her bangs and covered her shirt. She cleared her eyes to see more clearly. The living room lamp..? Was she back in the living room? **"Way to try and run away loser." **Her brothers annoying voice echoed through her ears. She turned to give him an evil glare before he ran off to get her mother. **"Yo mom, she's up." **What time was it? She didn't have time to look at the clock before her mother came bursting in frantic and angry. **"What the hell! Why did Keith from down the road have to bring you home earlier? He said he found you laying in a ditch unconcious!"** She was screaming now. **"Wait.. I was unconcious in a ditch and he didn't call the cops? Wow." "No he didn't thank god. They would have came after me for letting you run around like that. I don't care if you are 18 you're grounded until you move out!" **Aleice just sighed and looked away. Her mom was all talk and no action, so the punishment was more steam than fire. Still.. why had she passed out in a ditch last night? Everything was all a blur. Everything except that rather vivid dream.

Lex, Kain.. they were wolves? Why was she suddenly dreaming about wolf people? That thought brought a smirk to her face which her mother took personally and called her a rather hurtful name, then left the room pissed. Again, Aleice just shook it off. Back to the matter at hand. WHY HAD SHE PASSED OUT? She could faintly remember being in pain from her headache. It must have progressed to migraine level and put too much pressure on her brain or something. Eh. Whatever, she was okay and home now.

**"Aleice! Come do this laundry! Your brother needs his school clothes for tomorrow." **Her mom yelled from the kitchen. Aleice groaned and slowly stood, slugging her way to the laundry room. It's where she'd be for the next two hours or so.

Two hours of repeatedly washing/drying/folding clothes could wear anyone out. She had yet to have dinner though, and her stomach was yelling at her. Heading to the kitchen she passed her sister who gave her a rather rude face. It was normal though, nothing she could do but brush it off and keep going. There on the counter was what she usually had whenever she missed dinner. Ramen noodles.

Grinning to herself she popped open a bag and dumped it in a bowl, pouring hot water over it and sitting at the kitchen table to look at the paper while she waited. Of course she checked the classifieds, but there was nothing, as usual. Sighing to herself she went on to read the front page story about a local boy getting his wish granted for having cancer. He asked to see the Ohio State football team live. Why would you ask for that before you die? There were so many more things she'd rather see and do before she died. Bungee jumping, skydiving, swimming with dolphins and playing actual laser tag!

The timer beeped and her noodles were done. She grabbed the bowl and headed to the living room. Her mom had already went to bed so the living room was empty except for her, as usual. She stared at the steam coming from the bowl and just closed her eyes. She thought of her walk the night before, the talk with her aunt, the extreme migraine.. now remembering how it had progressed to the point of fainting. Then there was the dream. Kain was something else.. he had been so, so.. forward. She blushed slightly. How come guys only did those things to her in her dreams? It made her feel like a complete loser. She was lonely. She couldn't hide it either. But what was she to do? How was she supposed to meet anyone around here.. especially living the way she did now. Her blush faded as she ate her noodles, slowly slurping herself into another headache. She wouldn't let it get as severe this time. Before it had the chance to turn bad she grabbed two extra strength Advil. After which she cleaned her dishes and turned off all the lights. **"Bedtime I guess.." **She sighed, making her bed on the couch as always. Everything was so routine. It was dull and boring.. Things needed to change.

She could feel the medicine begin to kick in, and by the time she rolled onto her side and cuddled her pillow.. she was out.

Birds could faintly be heard chirping in the distance. She could feel the suns intense heat bearing down on her through the same window as before. Before she even opened her eyes she knew where she was. Her lips bent into a small smile. Fully aware from the first moment she was in her dream she really didn't care what happened this time. She sat up and stretched, the blanket falling off her bare chest. It was good to not care. Something was missing though. Where were the goons? She looked around scanning the wooden room. She hadn't really gotten a good look at it before through all the ruckus. It was like a cozy little log cabin. The dining room table was a stump with a wider peice of wood ontop. The furniture were bean bag shapes covered in what looked like animal fur. The bed she was laying on was really only a pile of leaves and feathers. She liked it.. As she looked around she noticed her clothes sitting on one of the "chairs". Dream or not she still felt more comfortable clothed, so standing and dropping the blanket she got dressed. Time to find the boys.

Leaving the small cot she scanned the surroundings. They were nowhere in sight. Sighing to herself she sat down on a stump conveniently behind her. What was she supposed to do in her dream if there was no one to do anything with? Of course, she spoke too soon. Out of nowhere something darted out of the nearby bushes and twisted up her leg. She jumped up and screamed, kicking franticly trying to get it to let go. It wouldn't though, and instead made it up her leg and slithered into her shirt wrapping itself around her stomach as it crawled further up. She grabbed for it with her hands but with it inside her shirt there was little she could do.

Finally the thing came out her neck hole and dropped to the ground. It was a snake. Her whole body shivered. A snake. A snake had attacked her and was now sitting infront of her, completely still. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she stared into it's beady black eyes. It had a decent length body, covered in darkred scales with random splotches of fire engine red. She was just about to make a run back inside when the snake began to shed it's scales. It slowly turned into a foot, leading to a leg, a second leg, a groind, stomach, chest, shoulders, and then head. Of course. Another one.

She bent over to grab her knees and sighed a sigh of relief.** "My god.. you scared me." **Standing back up she scanned him over. Of course he was naked too. He had a slightly darker red hair colour than her. His eyes were black. Just black. On his shoulders were scars, distinctively shaped too. One was a star, the other was a moon. He smirked at her, revealing two pearly white fangs. She stepped back, no longer feeling safe.** "Whaaat? I scared you? All I did was check who you were." **He chuckled and stepped closer. She decided trying to run wouldn't be a good idea. Instead she masked her fear.** "I'm Aleice. And you?" "Aleice? I've never heard of you before. You live round here? What's your mark?" **He didn't answer her. So she wouldn't answer him. **"I asked what's your name." **She was firm. His grin faded and was replaced with a glare and frown. His face showed darkness. Her fears shined through again and she began to shiver.** "I do believe I asked you a question, little girl." **Just like that his hand was around her neck. He had a firm grip, but not so firm so that she couldn't breath. Her hands gripped his and tried to pry his off. **"Let go!" **Now his grip tightened. Her airways were being clenched and it was harder to breath. She tried fighting back with weak kicks to his shin, it did little. He just laughed at her. **"Are you going to answer me or am I going to have to break your scrawny little neck?" **His grip tightened even more. Now she was gasping and kicking franticly. This may had been a dream but it sure felt real.

Out of nowhere the black wolf from earlier darted out from behind them and tackled the snake boy to the ground. He was barking and growling feriously, clamping down on the boys arm and shaking his head back and forth. It was Kain. Lex followed him, but instead of attacking the snake he crawled up and took her shirt in his mouth, tugging on it and pulling her inside. They left the fighting and closed the door. Inside Lex shifted back into his human self.

**"Sorry bout that. We weren't expecting you to wake up so soon." **She was still shaking. Taking a seat on one of the fur chairs she stared at him with wide eyes. **"Who was that?" **He laughed. **"That? That's Damien. He's.. well he's an asshole. As you can see he has a temper." She nodded. "Should we help Kain?" "Nah, Kain and Damien are best friends. They fight like that constantly. They can never just goof off, everything has to be serious with them." **She stood to look out the "windows", which were really just holes cut in the wood. They were nowhere in sight. Suddenly the door burst open and they came walking in, Kains shoulder around Damiens. They were laughing. The door closed and they plopped down onto the chairs, still laughing. **"Dude next time you're mine!" **Damien proclaimed to Kain, apparently meaning Kain had won. Kain laughed and winked. **"Nah. You'll never beat me." **Their laughter died down before they even noticed her standing awkwardly in the corner. **"Oh hey, sorry bout that. I can get.. eh.. mean I guess when someone annoys me. Just answer my questions next time, kay?" **Damien winked at her and looked to Lex. **"Get me somethin' to drink bro." "Get it yourself lazyass." **They laughed again. Was she missing something? The dude had just almost choked her to death. He wasn't going to get by with just a sorry..

Not thinking she walked over and in one swift movement slapped the piss out of him. His cheek and her hand were red, and she was staring him down as his expression grew wide eyed. It didn't stay that way for long, slowly his face morphed into the most demonic looking expression. That was a bad idea.

She could hear Lex sigh behind her, and then what sounded like him shifting. Kain just sat there grinning and shaking his head. She backed away behind Lex, who was now in his wolf form. He was bearing his teeth and in a defensive stance. Damien stood and held his cheek, staring her down from infront of Lex. His sneer slowly turned into a smirk, and then a grin. **"I guess I deserved that." **Both her and Lex's jaw dropped. That was it? No retaliation?

Maybe Damien wasn't the heartless bastard he seemed like. **"By the way, you never answered me earlier. Are you from here? And what's your mark? I couldn't find it." **She shook her head and sat at the table, relaxing. **"I'm not from here.. where ever here is.. and mark? What's that mean?" **Lex shifted back into his human self as they all stared her down with puzzled looks. **"You have to know what a mark is.." **She just sat there with a blank expression. **"You know.. the mark. The mark which distinguishes who you are? Like Damiens scars and our canines?" **Kain was just as confused as everyone else. **"It's how we know which animal you beling to. Which is another thing.. you haven't shifted yet. What are you exactly?" "She's a cat, remember?"** Lex said. **"Nah.. I think she was just being cute with us." **Kain smirked. **"Plus, if she were a feline she'd have that pawprint on her chest. I saw nothing." **Damien added.

**"Guys.. I'm not an animal.. I'm a human." **She gulped. **"Uhh.. that's pretty much impossible. You have to belong to an animal to exist here. C'mon.. stop jokin' with us." **Lex laughed. **"No really, I can't turn into any animals.. I find it strange you guys can." **They were all speechless and wide eyed. **"You mean you can't shift?" "I guess.." "I refuse to believe that. The only way I'd believe it is if James told us himself." **Kain crossed his arms and looked away. **"James?" **She asked. **"James is sort of like.. the wise one around these parts, I guess." **Lex explained.** "Hah! I know more than that fool." **Damien sneered and they all shared a laugh. **"Anyways, let's go see James. We'll get to the bottom of this." **Lex said and then grabbed her hand, motioning for the other two to follow.

With that, they were out the door and on their way to where ever this James guy lived.


	5. DUP Ch 5

Dreaming Up Reality

Ch. 5.

Their journey to James was a long one. The path they followed was completely dirt, sometimes no path at all, just a faint trail of bushes or trees. The sun still managed to beat down on their heads though. She couldn't understand how Kain and Damien remained so pale. Lex was a bit darker but not by much. She pulled her hood up to shade herself from the harsh rays. It didn't take long for one of the trouble makers to tug her hood off though. **"Ya know.. maybe you AREN'T from around Luxberry. These clothes are something I've never seen before." **Kain smirked. She shrugged and put her hood back on. **"They're just clothes. Plus, you guys never seem to wear any. All clothes must look weird to you." "We wear clothes when we journey anywhere outside Luxberry, but that's about it. And usually it's nothing more than shorts or something. "** He said, putting his hands behind his head and falling back to rejoin Damien who had been lurking behind the three.

Lex had just been faintly listening and directing the group. His sense of direction seemed to be the best. **"We're not too far. I say another hour or so of walking will get us there."** As soon as he said it Kain and Damien groaned. **"Whyyy are we walking again?"** Damien whined. **"Because Aleice can't shift like us." "Then why not just carry her? You've done it before." Kain spat, rolling his eyes. "**Well.. Iunno. Didn't really think about it." Lex looked back at her. **"Want to do it?" **She shrugged. **"I don't mind. I don't want to make you carry me again." **

Lex smiled and stretched, about to shift when suddenly Kain darted between Aleices legs, knocking her off balance and ontop of his back. He had already shifted and knew what he wanted. She gasped and grabbed onto his fur for dear life. **"Don't pull so hard! Lex, you grab snake boy!" **Kain chuckled and then continued on the dirt path. Lex seemed kind of annoyed but got over it quickly, shifting and letting Damien slither onto his back. He caught up to Kain easily, even passing him up, looking back only to gloat. She giggled and Kain spat again.

A few minutes turned into ten. They were running by huge roaming hills covered in wild flowers and grass about as tall as the wolves. They even passed a small village. There were naked people running about amongst animals. The nudity she had gotten over. The animals she hadn't. She saw a doe being accompanied by a very hairy boar. It was so weird to her, but then again.. it was a dream.

Kain sped up and got closer to Lex. The village was far behind them in a matter of minutes. Ahead was only trees with a small clearing coming up. She saw Lex stop and lay down. Kain walked up behind him and did the same. He dropped onto his stomach and they both panted heavily. She stood up and brushed herself off, looking around. **"Are we here?"** The two wolves lay panting still. Damien was nowhere in sight.

She turned around to face them just as a voice echoed through the small clearing. **"It depends. Where is the 'here' you are looking for?" **She jumped and searched franticly for the source. She saw nothing. **"Uh.. we're looking for someone called James.." **By then Lex had shifted back and was standing to join her. **"James quit foolin' about. You know who we are." **He said, looking around with her. Kain shifted but didn't say anything, just remained sitting on the ground. **"Where's Damien?" **She whispered to Lex, still scanning for the voice.

Suddenly, the biggest bird she had seen in a forest darted from the top of one of the darkest trees. He seemed to be coming straight at her. Her body froze and she stared wide eyed watching the beady yellow eyes dart straight towards her. It was just as he was about to hit when she clenched her eyes shut and waited for impact. Instead though, she heard a loud hiss and then rustling. Slowly, she opened her eyes to see a very large owl wtih talons wrapped around Damien, the snake.

**"I told you before Damien. You can't surprise me." **The owl chuckled and let go, fluttering back up onto a branch. **"Screw off old man. I would have had you if you didn't hide like a wuss." **Damien spat, shifting back into his human form and sitting next to Kain, who was currently laughing at him.

She looked back up towards the owl. He was a reddish-orange colour. His beak was odd though, it was black. His eyes were bright yellow and seemed to follow you wherever you moved. He was very large, about the size of a two year old human. That was HUGE for an owl. His head twisted awkwardly to stare at her. **"And who is this?" **He hoo'ed. **"Her name is Aleice. She's why we've come." **Lex spoke up for her since she seemed to have lost her tongue.

The owl just stared.

Finally after what seemed like forever he fluttered down from his branch. Right before he hit the ground he shifted. The feathers molted away to reveal a very tan, very tall, very.. orange haired fella. It wasn't red hair. It was orange. His eyes were a pretty sky blue, and he had lots of freckles. He must of noticed her looking him over.** "Like what you see?" **She blushed hard. **"Oh I was just.. watching I guess." **He laughed and walked towards them. **"So what brings you guys here?"**

**"Well, we don't really know. We found her yesterday laying in a feild. We found out today she can't shift. But this must be wrong, right?" **Lex asked. James looked her over. **"You can't shift? Or are you hiding something from us." **He squinted his eyes at her, making her gulp.

**"Look, I have no idea what this place even is. From where I'm from this is something we see in fairytales and mythilogical books." **She explained. **"Where exactly are you from then?" "Ohio. United States.. America.." **She watched his expression become even more confused. **"Earth!" **He grabbed her chin and tilted her head to the side. She freaked out and slapped his hand away. **"What are you doing?" **He laughed. **"Was just checking for the mark of the Jackal. You don't have it. Otherwise I'd call you a liar and kick you out."** She just looked at him funny. Lex was biting his lip from the looks of it. Kain and Damien were still just sitting and watching. **"I'm not an animal.. I've told you.." **She stated. **"Well, I'm sorry dear but everyone here is an animal."** He sighed. **"Maybe it's not so much as you aren't, just.. you haven't figured out who.."** She gave him a confused look. **"I know who I am.. I'm not an animal." **She said again. He chuckled.** "You're here. You belong to animal. You just don't know which yet. That's alright though! It's just we typically are given the mark by our parents. Maybe.. you're parents abandoned you? Or maybe they were killed just as they had you? I don't know." **He sighed. Damien jumped up and pointed. **"See! You DON'T know everything!" **He laughed and looked down towards Kain, high fiving him. James just shook it off. **"You just need to figure out why you're here and everything will fall into place. Just, get to know people. Explore a little bit. You obviously aren't from around Luxberry or you wouldn't be clothed."** He gave her hoody a little tug to indicate his point.

**"Why can't I just be a human? Why is it that I have to be an animal? Why won't you guys believe me?"** She pleaded. **"It's not that being all human is bad.. it's just not how it is. Maybe you ARE all human. Who knows."** Kain stood and crossed his arms. **"So what you're saying is we wasted our time coming here becuase you have no idea."**

**"Precisely!"**

Everyone groaned except James. **"Look, go see Desmond and Tord. If you're going to be sticking around atleast get to know some of the locals. I value those twos' friendship most." **With that, James shifted and fluttered off, his huge wings blowing gusts of wind towards them all. She sheilded her eyes and then checked everyone out after it was over. **"So what now?"** **"Now we go see Desmond and Tord, as he said."** Lex nodded. **"Why would we do as he says when he honestly has no idea."** Damien groaned. **"Quit being lazy. I'm curious as to what she is. Finding out doesn't seem like a bad idea."** Kain actually stuck up for her. That or he really was just a curious fool. Either way.. now they had even more people to meet.


	6. DUP Ch 6

Dreaming Up Reality

Ch. 6.

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

That's all she heard as she started to come to. Whatever she was laying on didn't feel like her couch. Her eyes were hesitent to open though, the lights were insanely bright and seemed to be focused directly on her. Why did it feel like she was laying on plastic as well? Where was she?

Slowly raising her arm to block out the light so she could open her eyes fully, she felt a slight tug. Her eyes jolted open to stare at the IV implanted in her vein. She could feel her heart picking up already. Her eyes followed the tube to the bag filled with clear liquid. Her head flung back to stare at the closed hospital door. That's right.. she was in a hospital. But why?

Starting to panic, she began to hypervetilate. Her fingers on the free hand dug at the IV in her vein. Needles. Needles were in her. She cringed and started to gasp and call for help. She couldn't stand hospitals. They gave her panic attacks, plus she had a needle in her arm and she had no idea why she was there.

Her head flung back onto the pillow and she continued to squeeze her arm. She got to the point where she was literally ripping the needle out of her skin. It triggered an alarm and the IV machine began to beep franticaly. The next thing she knew a two nurses came in with gloves on holding the biggest needle she had ever seen. She began to scream.

**"Hold her down! She's having a panic attack!" **One nurse said to the other, who was already partially ontop of her trying to stop the bleeding in her arm where she had ripped the IV out. The other nurse dug the bigger needle into her shoulder. It stung and made her cry. She was still screaming and shaking tremendously. Suddenly though it didn't scare her as bad. Her nerves began to settle and she could feel her eyes getting heavy once again. She needed to know why she was there though! She couldn't sleep yet.. but it was too late. She had already been knocked out again.

**"LET GO!" **Her eyes flung open and she started to kick and bash, screaming franticly.** "Ow! Stop it!" **Wait.. why was she panicking? She knew there was something important going on.. but she couldn't recall anything except the fear. It must've just been a bad dream.. Also, who said ow? Where was she actually.. The last she could recall she had been leaving James to go find a couple new people. Now she was in a completely darkened room. She couldn't see anything. That and someone else had to be in there with her because she heard a voice.

Feeling around for any source of light, her hands happened across a huge pile of what felt like fur. Was it another chair? Was she back in Lex and Kains house? **"... Hello?" **There was a silence, and then the pile of fur moved. **"Haha.. well hello there." **She gasped and flung herself back.** "Who are you!" **She was cornered against a wall now. She still couldn't see anything Suddenly she could hear movement, and then a loud crunch. A huge rock rolled away revealing what looked like the cave entrance. Why was she in a cave though?

And then she looked back over to the source of the voice. It was a bear. A huuuge white bear with brown splotches of fur around his eyes and ears.

The bear sat down and started laughing. Oddly enough, she had gotten used to all the animals. It didn't scare her at all that she was in a cave with a bear. She was just wondering why. Taking a seat on the opposite side of the cave she laughed too. **"You really scared me.. Why am I here? And who are you?" **She asked. **"You're here because your friends brought you here. Apparently you fell asleep on the way and they didn't want to wake you. Since my cave is the only available house in the area I told em they could keep ya here. They're outside if you want to join them." **She stood and stretched, peeking out the cave entrance to check them out. The bear was right, they were out there just chattering away. She turned back to face him. **"Thank you! But again.. who are you?" **He seemed quiet and unreluctant at first. **"I'm Desmond." "Oh! THE Desmond? The one we were supposed to find? That's great then. Means I didn't completely put us off track!" **She giggled, trying to get him to laugh too. He didn't, just smiled a humble smile. She shrugged it off and stepped closer.** "I'm Aleice." "I know. Your friends told me all about you already." **She smiled. **"So I take it you can shift too?" **She asked. Hinting for him to turn into his human form. She was curious to see what he looked like. He just sat there and nodded. **"I can shift."**

Honestly she wanted to see him. But she didn't want to seem rude and just ask. **"I figured." **She smiled and sat down infront of him. James said that Desmond and Tord could shed some light on who she was. She wanted to talk to him some more. She wanted to try and do this on her own instead of Lex and Kain having to help all the time. She felt kind of useless to be honest. She noticed after she sat infront of him his posture changed. He seemed kind of shy sitting right infront of him. Shy or he just really didn't want to be bothered. She hoped it was just shy.

**"So.. How do you know James exactly?" **She asked, twiddling her thumbs. **"Eh, we're brothers." **She froze for a second. **"Wait.. He's an owl. You're a bear.. Is that possible?" **That put a smile on his face and he laughed. **"Yea. Just becuase we don't bear the same mark doesn't mean we can't be family. The animal chooses you." **His expression became calm and gentle. She felt at ease around him for some reason. **"Ah I see.. We're trying to figure out why I can't shift." "You can't shift?" **He sounded concerned. **"Are you sick? I know someone who can cure just about any illness." **His tone comforted her. He was a stranger she had just met, and he actually cared. That was something she wasn't used to. Everyone in this world seemed to love one another. **"Haha nahh. I'm not sick. I just.. don't have an animal I guess. No one wants me." **She stuck her tongue out, trying to turn it into a joke. But they both could hear the sorrow hidden behind the fake humor.

**"I'm sure you'll find someone." **He smiled again. **"Is everyone in Luxberry this nice?" **She giggled. He laughed too. **"Well, for the most part. The people you meet who aren't as friendly usually aren't from around here." **

Just as he said that a loud, booming roar echoed through the cave. It came from outside. After the roar they could hear barks and growls, hisses and sneers. They both lunged to their feet, and paws, and headed outside to see what was going on.

On the outside everyone had shifted. Lux, Kain, Damien.. and there was a new animal too. A tiger. It looked just like one from all those jungle pictures.. huge, orange with black stripes, green eyes.

**"Just get out of here Tord! You're in one of your moods again." **Lex could be heard through his growling teeth. So the tiger was Tord? Wasn't he supposed to be helping them too? **"Yea. Just run on home with your wittle kitten tail between your legs." **Kain sneered, and then laughed. Tord glared and growled again. **"Both of you think you're so funny. You'll see who gets the last laugh." **With that the tiger lunged at the two wolves. They dodged and went in different directions. Tord didn't hesitate to switch direction and go after Lex. The wolf hadn't fully regained his balance when the tiger caught up and grabbed hold of his leg with his claws. Lex whined loud. This was getting real. Wasn't Tord there to help them afterall?

She took off running towards them in fear Lex was hurt. Desmond reached a paw out to try and grab her but missed. **"Come back! It's not safe!" **He yelled, but his attempts at getting her to stop were futile. He growled, but in a more fearful way than harmful.

She dove into the pair of fighting animals, knocking the tiger off Lex since she caught him by surprise. He roared and took a defensive stance, readying himself to pounce. She froze in fear.

Just as he lunged for her Kain jumped in the way and took the blow. Tord bit down on his back and she could see blood spill. She could move again but she was still scared. Filled with adrenaline she managed to jump onto the tigers back and grab on for dear life. He let go of Kain and began to fling himself, trying to get her to fall off.** "Get the hell off!" **He growled. She could see both of her friends were injured and out for the count. If she let go what would happened to her. She felt tears on her cheeks. She was so scared but had no idea what to do.

Her arms were getting increasingly tired of holding on so tight though.. she couldn't help but let go and be thrown a good ten feet away. Her body landed with a thud and knocked the breath out of her. She could see the tiger still. He readjusted himself before staring her down with barred fangs. He began to walk towards her slowly, laughing. **"You stupid little girl. What did you possibly expect to do versus me?"** He laughed louder. Was she going to die? This guy seemed seriously twisted. She could barely move. All she could manage was scooting away slowly with what little strength she had left in her arms.

**"Ya know what.. I'll make it quick and painless." **With that he leapt into the air, and she closed her eyes tight.

In a matter of moments everything seemed to happen at once. She heard rustling, an even louder snarl than before, and then a loud thud. Still, she had yet to be pounced on. Her eyes squinted open slowly only to be greeted with a back full of white fur. It was Desmond! She looked over to where the thud had came from to see Tord laying against a tree. Desmond must've batted him over there. He was a huge bear afterall.

**"Don't you EVER lay a paw on ANY of them ever again Tord!" **His voice was stern, low.. it had changed. He sounded mean. The type of mean you didn't want to mess with. Tord stood up, barely. He had an obvious limp now. He didn't even try and fight back. It was a fight he knew he'd lose. He just scurried away as fast as he could, not another word.

She was overwhelmed with gratitude, and without thinking jumped up to tackle the bear in a huge embrace.

**"Thank you!" **The tears were still coming, but they were happy tears now. She thought she was going to die. And he saved her. He seemed shocked when she embraced him. His body tensed up for a moment. But he gradually eased, and before she knew it she had her arms around yet another naked boy. He had one hand resting in the middle of her back and the other hand patting her hair. It was a sweet hug. When it was over she took a step back and sniffled, looking him over a bit. He was about average height. His skin was even more pale than hers. He had a huge three ringed scar on his left shin. It must had been his mark. His hair was down to his mid back, an icey blue colour. He had beautiful blue eyes. And he was also blushing.. Which made her smile.

The moment ended when they heard the two wolves whining still.

And that wasn't all. They also heard coo'ing. Up in the sky was a familiar owl with a scared little snake in his beak. Damien and James shifted after landing.

**"Damien tells me you were in need of some assistance? Looks like Tord's gone though."** He looked back at Lex and Kain. **"Let's get the idiots up and running." **They all shared a laugh.


	7. DUP Ch 7

Dreaming Up Reality

Ch. 7.

**"There, that should finish up the bandaging." **Aleice smiled and patted Kain gently on his arm where Tord had hurt him. He shook his head and sighed. **"I still can't believe I let him do that to me. I'm such a joke." **She frowned and sat down on rock infront of him. **"You're not a joke.. you were quite brave. Tigers are no joking matter and you went after him wihtout a fear in the world."** She smiled, trying to cheer him up. He continued to face the ground, sulking. Ah well. She tried.

A hand was placed on her shoulder and she turned to face Desmond. **"Oh hey.. what's up?" "We finished bandaging Lex. Looks like they'll both make a full recovery." **He smiled and removed his hand. He returned over to the corner where everyone but Kain was. She joined them.

**"We can't go to her. She's a flippin psycho!" **Damien shouted towards James. **"She is rather.. outgoing. But I fear we're not facing a matter of "who are you" anymore. I did some thinking after you guys left the other day."** Everyone got silent and focused in. She took a seat next to Lex. **"You all know the story of our world, right? How Rutia was created?" "Sure." "Well, not all of us." **Desmond said, looking towards Aleice. **"True. Well I'll tell you the story."**

**"Rutia was said to be created by humans. Although if humans did ever exist they have been long gone in our world for ages now. Which is partially why we can't believe your story Aleice." **She nodded. **"But anyways, it is said two mere humans are the reason for our existance. Adamite and Evean. They couldn't thrive in the world they originated in. They were miserable and looking for any way out. Their love was strong but their spirits were not. It seemed like all was lost and they would die without ever figuring out what it was life had to offer. **

**Slowly as their human life grew old, they would began to tire, and eventually sleep more and more. Their dreams would take them to a wonderful thriving place filled with nature, free from humans grasp. They could be young again, happy in the world they seemed to share in their dreams. They loved it so much they never wanted to wake up. Every waking day they would dream of the dream they wanted to go back to. They began to forget about their world, and the dreams they had would last longer. **

**Evean loved it so much she began to lose sight of what was important to her. Adamite. **

**One day while walking through the forests of the world they called Rutia, she stumbled across a mighty lion. His allure was powerful. He convinced Evean that her world was nothing special. She was nothing special. He offered her deals and schemes on how she could live in Rutia forever. The thought of never having to leave was too great to pass up! "I will grant you the ability to remain in Rutia forever. You will become a Rutian, and live out your days amongst us. You can never return to your world." He would tell her. She immediately agreed and a contract was made. **

**As Adamite woke the next day, he found his wife laying dead next to him. He greived and pleaded on empty winds to take him too. His greiving got so intense he couldn't dream of Rutia for days. He didn't dream, at all. **

**And then finally one night he was back. Alone. In the dream world him and his wife had created together. He couldn't feel the same amount of joy as he had before, but it did comfort him. **

**A playful little boar popped out of the bushes one day. She seemed to instantly connect with him, never leaving his side and whenever he would sit to rest she would curl up in his lap. At first he enjoyed the company, but something inside him was beginning to bubble up. It was pent up rage and nager that Evean had left him. How dare she die before him, abandoning him to face the world all alone! How DARE she! His anger took him over and as the boar slept, he slit her throat out of pure rage.**

**To his surprise the bloody little animal began to change. Slowly he could make out the curves of a womans body, and not just any woman, Evean.**

**He couldn't believe his eyes. His wife was still here. She was in Rutia all along. He had just slain her with his own two hands!**

**As he sat there holding her close to his chest and sobbing, the same lion that had visited Evean found him. He stood overlooking as the man greived in his wifes blood.**

**"You were not happy in this world nor your own. You did not appreciate either for what it was. Your wife did the same, and became too greedy. She wanted to remain here forever, and left you behind. You wanted to escape and couldn't think about what had already happened, you only dwelled in the bad and not the good." The lion sat and wrapped his tail around his hind legs. His trickery was not over.**

**"I will bring your wife back. She will not be a human, but she will not continue to be a boar either. Instead she will be both." Adamite wiped his eyes and began to listen. "The only cost to you is that you have to agree to leave all of humanity behind. You will no longer be a human either. You and her will bear the same curse and live out the rest of your lives here, in Rutia. Think wisely." Adamites smile had finally come back to him after so long! He didn't even need to think, he was hasty with a stern "Deal!". The lion sighed and bowed his head.**

**"It is done, but know this. Rutia is not heaven. It is a sad day when you're ashamed to be you." With that, he vanished. Evean began to wake, and when she did her and Adamite shared one of the happiest moments they had ever had. Both were oblivious to the lives they had given up, to the people they no longer were. " **

Everything was silent for a few seconds after. Aleice shook her head. **"So wait, this place was created from a dream of a perfect world?" **James nodded. **"Yes, but the moral of the story I guess was be happy with who you are, and don't be quick to demean yourself. Adamite and Evean gave up who they were just becuase they thought they wanted more. They already had what made them happy, each other." **Desmond jumped in. **"It's said that there are still people who have lost their way and been brought to Rutia. But we figured those were just old folktails to keep our world story going." "That's what I'm saying! Maybe Aleice is the proof to that tail. If that's the case she needs to go visit Decker." **James' voice began to crack at the last part.

Everyone was silent again. Kain had finally joined them.

**"Sending her to see Decker is like throwing fresh meat to a hungry lion. Literally." **He sneered. **"Yes but he is the oldest being from here. He was around looong before us." "That's true but he's also a filthy liar. Why would we ever put credit into what he's saying?" **Lex jumped in. **"Because we have nowhere else to turn." **Everyone just kind of got silent and looked around. Damien was the one to finally break the silence again.

**"Well then it's time we recruited Geena." **He sighed. **"My thoughts precisely." **James added. **"She's one of the few people I know who know their way around him. Atleast with her Aleice has a chance of knowing the truth."**

She finally stood and got the guts to ask, **"Why are we even doing this again? I know we want to find out why I can't shift, but c'mon.. this seems like too much trouble for something like that."**

Kain wrapped an arm around her shoulder and smiled. **"Well before we were just curious. Now we're worried. If this story proves true, then you might be here because you're miserable. We would'nt want the real you to be miserable, now would we?" **She thought about what he was saying.

_'The real me? But.. I'm the real me.. aren't I?' _Suddenly she began to see flashes of light. Wait.. was.. was this a dream? How could she not know for sure? The lights grew. Her head began to pound and she fell to her knees. Desmond caught her arm and everyone stood to help, She groaned and thrashed trying to get the pain to go away, but it wouldn't. Opening her eyes wide she found herself in the same white room as before. She could remember now.

She was in a hospital!


	8. DUP Ch 8

Dreaming Up Reality

Ch. 8.

"Doctor! She's up! Quick get in here!" A nurse was holding Aleices shaking arms down trying to keep her from ripping the IV out of her arm. Her eyes were darting around the room still trying to make sense of all of this. Why was she in the hospital and why couldn't she remember anything that just happened? What was going on!

She managed to break free from the nurse, swinging her hand away wildly in panic and managing to rip a gash in her arm from the needle. She screamed and the nurse grabbed ahold of her once again. The doctor rushed in dropping his clipboard and helping the nurse. "ALEICE YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN!" He yelled, trying to hold her still. She would be calm if her arm wasn't gushing blood now. The doctor noticed and motioned for the nurse to put pressure on the wound as he got another anesthetic. "No! She's already had some of that within the hour. If we give her more it could put her in a coma!"

A coma? What was happening! The doctor groaned and threw the needle in the sink rushing over with bandages to wrap her arm up temporarily. She had stopped thrashing as much, wanting it to stop bleeding just as bad as they did. Looking around she saw the mess it made. Both the doctor and nurse were stained red with blood. The bed sheets needed changed too now. She felt childish for making such a big deal.. but truthfully she still had no idea why she was there.

"See? You're fine. Why were you having a fit?" The doctor said softly. "I have no idea why I'm here! What happened to me?" The doctor nodded to the nurse to leave the room, she walked out quickly and closed the door.

"Aleice, you were brought here by your mother. She was worried after you had went to sleep one night and she couldn't wake you up. You were in a coma for three days." Her eyes grew wide. "A coma? Why?" She was starting to panic again and the doctor saw that. "No no don't worry! It could have been anything! We're running tests now even. I don't think it's anything serious." She knew he was only feeding her answers to prevent another freakout. "Well when can I leave?" "Whenever the tests prove there's nothing wrong with you. For now you need rest. Especially now that you just lost loads of blood. Try not to do that again." He smiled and stood, grabbing his clipboard and setting it on the counter. "The nurse will wait for you to fall asleep before re-wiring the IV. Don't worry kiddo." He left.

It was just her an an empty room now. The white walls staired down at her as she sat there in her hospital gown. Gah..

She rolled over trying to avoid using her hurt arm and pulled the uncomfortable blankets to her chest. So many thoughts circulating in her mind now. She didn't know anything other than what the doctor had just told her. That's when it hit her. A screaming headache just washed over her in an instant. It was spontaneous pain, but she could barely deal with it. The throbbing knocked on the inside of her head like a salesman desperately trying to pay the bills. Then she remembered the anesthetic the doctor threw in the sink.

Quickly jumping from the bed she ran over and took hold, jamming the sharp end into her vein and squeezing. Instantly her vision began to fade. She managed to scoot back over to the bed and lay down before completely dozing off. The headache ceased to exist for the moment.

"Hmm.." She groaned, her eyes yet to open. She could feel wind against her face and something soft under her hands and cheek. Slowly she opened her eyes. The forest was rushing by quickly, but she wasn't running. Looking down she saw him.

"Desmond?" The wind began to slow down as the Cream coloured bear came to a slow walk, turning his head to smile. "I see you're awake." She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What's going on?" She yawned. "Well, you kind of just.. passed out. Your friends said you did that a lot." She sighed. "So why am I on your back now?" "We're on our way to meet Geena. They can run faster than me and also decided it'd be easier if I carried you." He said, turning back to the path. She bit her tongue. "I'm sorry. I hate to be a burden." With that she began to slip off his back. He could feel her sliding off and began to run faster. She was forced to hold on and reposition herself. "Hey I was getting off!" She laughed. "No really, I don't mind it at all.. Go back to sleep if you need. It was nice.. that warm feeling." She blushed and could only imagine he was too. A slight silence overcame them. "So how much longer until we get to Geenas?" She asked. "Hmm. We should be thereeeee... now!" Just as he said it they popped out of the woods and into a very green meadow. Right in the middle was a huuuuge tree. Bigger than anything she had ever seen before. Her mouth hung open in amazement. Desmond noticed and laughed. "Yep. That's where she lives. By the smell of it everyone's here except us." He slowly lead them to the entrance where she slid off and let him shift back to his naked, blue haired self. She blushed slightly and knocked on the door.

Before she was finished knocking the door had already flung open and Kain flew out yelping. "Get the hell off you crazy b****!" "Haha! Not untill you tell me I'm pretty!" Aleice heard the female voice but didn't see her. "No just GET OFF!" "Nevarrrrr!" "Grahhh!" Kain shifted to his human form and fell into the grass. She watched the grass flicker and bend in a frenzy before Kain leapt up victorious. He had his hands cupped around something as he held it infront of him. "HAHAHA." He snorted. That's when the female voice came back. "Put me down or I'll shift in your hand!" "Yea yea." Suddenly Kain gasped and two naked figures fell to the ground. One was covered in long indigo locks. She laughed as Kain whined, both of them standing to brush themselves off. The girl turned to face her guests.

"So. You must be Aleice." Aleice blushed seeing another girl in the nude right infront of her. "Uhh yea." Geena looked confused. "Is there something on my face? Is it a bug? JAMES COME SAVE ME!" She yelled beginning to flail around. James burst out of the doors next with a small snake on his shoulder. "What is it? What's going on?" He asked. Geena jumped on him and tackled both of them to the ground. "ALEICE SAID THERE'S A BUG ON MY FACE! GET IT OFFFFF!" Aleice stepped back next to Desmond. "Just try to get used to it. She's always like this." He said, He looked over at Damien and motioned for him to follow.

The snake slithered off James shoulder and followed them to a more quiet corner of the meadow. Aleice took a seat on the ground and Desmond beside her. Damien shifted and sighed. "Freaking crazy. That girl will kill us all." He shook his head and sat down acrossed from them. "Did you need something Des?" Desmond nodded. "What's the news on Decker?" "Ah. Well Geena says she can get ut to his door but the rest will be up to her." He motioned towards Aleice. Desmond seemed distressed. "But you know Decker will try to force a deal!" "I know.. but that'll end up being her desicion anyways." Aleice jumped in. "A deal?" They both nodded. "Decker is.. well.. he's a tricky bastard to say the least." Damien moaned. "Yea, and he always gets what he wants." Both of the boys looked down.

"He won't get what he wants if you don't give it to him." Came a small voice. Out from the patch of flowers right next to them creeped a small feild mouse. She scampered up to Aleices shoulder and took a seat. "You just have to have a backbone guys. Say no. Or yes. Whatever the situation calls for." The mouse hopped off and shifted into Geena. So she was a feild mouse? Well. How was she able to talk Decker down to anything being just a mouse? Geena took a seat beside all of them. "You think I pulled that thorn from his paw for nothing? I wasn't being nice. He offered me my sword." Aleice laughed. The mouse and the lion. Of course.

"Aleice seems too sweet to make anyone mad, which is just what you have to do to him to get through." Desmond pleaded. "Well then we just have to toughen her up?" Geena punched Aleices arm. She fell over, her head pressed ahainst Desmonds shoulder. "Owwwww!" She gasped, staring wide eyed at Geena who was now rolling around laughing. "Sheesh.." She brushed herself off. "By the way.. how come Decker couldn't pull the thorn from his own paw? Like.. couldn't he shift back and just take it out of his hand?" Everyone grew silent.

"Well, Decker can't shift. He's just the lion hes always been. Some people say that's why he's so mean. He's cursed." James explained, walking up behind them with a tray full of tea. Lex and Kain followed. Everyone sat and drank.

Lex gathered fire wood and they had a huge bonfire that night. Everyone told stories and laughed. Everyone danced to the sound of James failing at a banjo. They played a bit of tag and Geena and James got into a tussle over who was right and wrong. "Don't make me eat you little mousy." James winked. Geena laughed. "Pervvvv." She walked away with James behind her. "No I didn't mean it like that!" His blush was bright red.

This was real fun to her. She felt at home. What would happen to her when she finally met this Decker? She didn't really want to leave her new friends. They were trying to help her but she really didn't want the help. She had a good enough life as it was, why ask for more?

She sighed and layed back on the cool grass staring up at the stars. Guess she would just go with the flow for now.


End file.
